Spirit of Discovery blog

With 925 guests having embarked in Dover yesterday we had hoped to visit St Peter Port in Guernsey, however with 30-35 knots of wind forecast we needed to find an alternative port that had a berth available and at short notice. So this morning we find ourselves approaching Cherbourg and pilot embarks at 0645. This morning I decide to keep the con throughout having just been here 2 days ago and now very familiar with this port. With a swing off the berth we “back down” to dock portside to the Quai de France passenger terminal. We are already by 0800 but as it is still dark the arrival announcement is delayed until 0830 which was our scheduled arrival time.

With the berth booked at the very last minute there are no shore excursions today but we are running 3 shuttle buses to the city centre and most of our guests take the opportunity to explore this lovely town. In the terminal itself, there is a superb submarine museum which is always worth a visit.

For me it’s time to jump on my bike again and take the coastal cycle path, en route I pass a status of Napoleon which I thought would make a great photo especially with my bike in the foreground. With 10km into the wind I decide it’s time to turn around and head back to the ship, but on my return I feel a visit to the city centre is in order and perhaps some “dejeuner” in a local café. I always enjoy my time ashore so a couple of hours break with a cycle ride and lunch fits the bill. With 20km completed its time to return to our beautiful lady.

All guests are on board by 1630 and at 1700 we slip our lines with Staff Captain Simon taking the con and taking the ship out to sea. Tomorrow we have a day at sea with our welcome cocktail party before an early arrival in Bordeaux, and I mean early – pilot at 0115!!!

Captain Julian Burgess